Why Regular Dental Exams Are So Important

Have you had an oral health checkup lately? Having routine dental examinations is imperative to monitoring your oral health and improving the likelihood of early detection of common issues like periodontal disease and tooth decay. Following are some good reasons why you shouldn’t skip dental appointments.

Oral Diseases are Destructive

Common oral diseases are destructive when they advance untreated. For instance, tooth decay and gum disease have the power to destroy hard and soft oral tissue. If tooth decay is not treated early on, bacteria will eat through a tooth’s structure all the way to the root canal or farther. Advanced tooth decay can lead to teeth breaking or becoming abscessed. Additionally, advanced gum disease destroys the supportive structures – gums and bone – that keep teeth in place. Detecting these issues and treating them as soon as possible helps preserve precious oral tissue.

Healthcare Cost Reduction

Beyond destroying vital oral tissue, common oral health problems can be costly to fix when they have advanced without treatment. For example, minor tooth decay is rectified by placing a small restoration called a filling. When decay advances, however, a filling is not sufficient to protect the tooth. Normally, extensive decay is treated with larger restorations like dental crowns or inlays. Larger restorations are custom made and more costly than fillings.

Oral Cancer Screenings

In addition to looking for signs of common issues like dental caries or gum disease, dental checkups include oral cancer screenings. An oral cancer screening could literally save your life. Oral cancers can develop anywhere in the mouth such as the lips, linings of the cheeks, the tongue, and at the back of the mouth near the opening of the airway. People who smoke and drink alcohol as well as those with a family history of these cancers have an increased risk for developing this condition. As with other potentially fatal illnesses, patients can increase the likelihood of securing a good prognosis with early detection and timely treatment.

Call us today to schedule an oral examination at Charlottesville Oral Surgery & Dental Implant Center.